Michigan Initiates Ongoing Power Quality Assessment Plan

The Michigan Public Service Commission recently released the findings from research it conducted regarding electric power quality, service reliability and power plant generating cost efficiency

The Michigan Public Service Commission recently released the findings from research it conducted regarding electric power quality, service reliability and power plant generating cost efficiency, and the consequent impact on end-use customers. The "Report on Status of Power Quality in Michigan" summarizes existing performance measurements for evaluating the service quality, reliability and power plant generating cost efficiency of electric utilities operating in Michigan under the Commission’s jurisdiction.

Based on the results of the power quality investigation, the Commission has concluded that no statutory changes are needed at this time. However, it intends to adopt the staff’s recommendation that new additional reporting requirements be established for electric power quality, reliability and power plant generating cost efficiency. Specifically, Consumers Energy Company and The Detroit Edison Company, who serve a majority of the industrial companies in Michigan, will be required to provide new information in an annual power quality report by April 2, 2010 -- and for each of the next three years. The annual report will contain data on all primary customer power quality investigations conducted in the past year for end-use customers, derived from their power quality meters, and the outcome of such investigations. At the end of the three year period, staff will file a report to the Commission regarding new standards and recommend if they should be applied to all electric utilities.

In addition, the two utilities must provide three new performance reliability measurements for service quality on an annual basis, including system average interruption duration index (SAIDI), system average interruption frequency index (SAIFI) and customer average interruption duration index (CAIDI). Each index will be reported with and without “major events” on a rolling five year average using the industry standard IEEE methodology of calculation.